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Kate Moss’ hair stylist: ‘British people wear their hair as a tribal badge’

In this country we’re so hair conscious – we push the boundaries. There’s a particular link between the British teenager and hair: young people wear a style as a tribal badge. Maybe it’s because we’re such a small country with so many people squeezed in, you have to find a way to stand out. I feel we’re in danger of losing that tradition a little bit, and I’m hoping my show at Somerset House will give an insight into how hair has become a part of our culture.

It was a big part of my teens. I lived in a tiny Scottish village, but I was always into fashion. The 60s were such a stylish decade to grow up in, and because of television we were all aware of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I had friends who owned a hair salon and I used to help out at weekends to get pocket money. I found myself intrigued by the world of beauty and I loved the creativity.

I moved to London in the 70s and ended up working at a salon on South Molton Street. From there I did a shoot for Vogue magazine and this whole other world opened up, full of cameras and beautiful models and people making incredibly sophisticated images. I was hooked from day one. I couldn’t go back to 12 haircuts in a row after that. I have complete admiration for people who work in salons, it’s a wonderful talent, but it’s not my talent.


Kate Moss, photographed by Nick Knight for Vogue, September 2000

I guess the shell of fashion has changed in the decades I’ve worked in the business but the nut in the middle is the same. Though there is recognition of what we do because of social media, people still ask where my salon is. Creating an iconic fashion image is all about timing. It has to be done at the right time on the right person. I’m really lucky in my life because I work with the most amazing people, from the 80s with Linda Evangelista and the 90s with Kate Moss and photographers like Mario Testino and Nick Knight. You have all these talents together and you spark off each other.

Even when I work on celebrity styling, it’s basically still doing hair for a brand. As with any brand, you develop a relationship and you create an image, whether it’s for Cate Blanchett at the Oscars, Kate Moss at a product launch – each person has their own agenda. It’s the same as doing a summer Vogue cover: it has to say summer. You’re communicating an idea.

Though sometimes celebrities surprise you. Once Tilda Swinton was promoting a film and I’d almost finished when she suddenly said, you know what, let’s do something radical. We cut it off really short and she’s had it like that ever since. It became her thing. Tilda owns that haircut. That’s an incredibly satisfying thing to do.

My most popular style is the done undone thing. It’s become part of the mainstream and it’s a go-to look for many designers. Kate Moss’s Bardot look is a thing; the Princess Diana look became very popular. People still look to celebrities for ideas, but it’s just ideas and there may be a few of those in one look, so they end up taking inspiration from multiple people.


Princess Diana photographed by Patrick Demarchelier in 1995

What used to happen in fashion was that the pendulum would swing: if there’d been short hair for a while, then it would go long and vice versa. Now we’re seeing something different. People are much more individual with their hair. There are so many more products out there and people watch videos so they know how to use them. I think the product side is really interesting, the way the technology is moving – you can change your hair on a temporary basis, even just for three or four hours, without damaging it.

When you do someone’s hair, you become good friends very quickly. Some of the women I met as young models or actresses are still friends with me today. In fact now they’re mothers and grandmothers and I’m working with their daughters. Yasmin Le Bon is a dear old friend and now I work with her daughter. Edie Campbell’s mother Sophie Hicks was a fashion editor at Vogue and Tatler.

Looking through my photos for the exhibition and book was weird and cathartic – there were so many I’d forgotten and there were also images of people who aren’t with us any more. I did get a sense of achievement and history. What an amazing time to be in this business: I was here almost at the beginning back in the 70s and I’ve seen it through to the end of this era, because the business is changing again. Looking through my work highlighted what a golden era this has been for fashion.

Hair by Sam McKnight is at Somerset House from 2 November; somersethouse.org.uk

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